The institute cooperates with local and national, as well as international institutions, and educates students within courses of the studies Medicine, Immunology and Biosystems-Engineering. The research programme of the institute encompasses scientific projects on the pathophysiology of inflammation and tumour biology. Here, the molecular and cell biological mechanisms of cell-cell communication, and the question of protein function in cellular networks are of special interest. In addition, the research comprises work on innovative approaches for the identification of therapeutic targets and drug structures.